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is Sweden's largest online gaming company offering a large number of gambling products from casino games to ] and ]. From humble beginnings in 1963, the company is now listed on the NASDAQ ] with a revenue of in excess of €420 million<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMDA-1D21B7/1822210235x0x884801/ABCA5535-62F2-4FA4-989D-D8B7FD0D263C/Betsson_Annual_Report_2015.pdf|title=Betsson AB 2015 Annual Report|last=|first=|date=2015|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref>, with offices across Europe. '''Betsson AB''' is a ] company that offers a number of ] products, such as ], ], ], ] and ] through several wholly owned ]-based subsidiaries, like BML Group Ltd and Betsson Malta Ltd. Betsson AB is listed on the ].<ref name="2015-report" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Koncernstruktur - Betsson AB|url=http://www.solidinfo.se/koncernstruktur/Betsson-AB|publisher=Solid Info|accessdate=5 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://www.betsson.com/en/|publisher=Betsson|accessdate=5 August 2014}}</ref>


==Corporate history== ==Corporate history==
Betsson AB can trace its roots back to 1963, and the foundation of AB Restaurang Rouletter by Bill Lindwall and Rolf Lundström, later renamed Cherryföretagen AB (Cherry), which provided slot machines to restaurants in Sweden. Cherry acquired a minority share of Net Entertainment in 1998, which was a company co-founded with ], tasked with developing online gaming solutions. The rest of the shares in Net Entertainment held by Kinnevik was acquired by Cherry in 2000, making Kinnevik the largest shareholder of Cherry in the process. In 2003, after the return of Pontus Lindwall (son of Bill Lindwall), as the CEO of Cherry, the company buys into Betsson (founded by Henrik Bergquist, Anders Holmgren and Fredrik Sidfalk), which had a gaming licence in England at that time, and later acquires a license in Malta. In 2006, Cherryföretagen changes its name to Betsson and the traditional gaming operation in the business sector of Cherry merges into a new group, Cherryföretagen, which later shortens the name back to Cherry and launches its own online sector based in Malta.<ref>http://dev.cherry.se/en/cherrys-history/</ref> Ulrik Bengtsson stepped up as CEO of Betsson in March 2016, and took over after Pontus Lindwall, who has stayed on as chairman of the board.<ref name=grunddata>{{cite web|title=BETSSON AB - Grunddata|url=http://www.solidinfo.se/foretag/betsson-ab/grunddata|publisher=Solid Info|accessdate=5 August 2014|language=Swedish|quote=Registrering och aktivering: Bildat 1963-12-02 BV, Namn registrerat 2006-06-13 BV}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.betssonab.com/en/About-Betsson/History/|publisher=Betsson|accessdate=5 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Betsson - superaktien som stigit över 11 000 procent|url=http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/nyheter/sverige/betsson-superaktien-som-stigit-over-11-000-procent_7015093.svd|language=Swedish|publisher=]|accessdate=5 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Tar hem spelet|url=http://www.affarsvarlden.se/hem/nyheter/article2583956.ece|publisher=]|accessdate=5 August 2014|language=Swedish}}</ref>
The foundations of Betsson AB were laid in 1963 with the creation of AB Restaurang Rouletter a company built by Bill Lindwall and Rolf Lundström, which began operating with a single slot machine. The company soon expanded throughout Southern and Central Sweden from where it grew to operate nationally in a strategic partnership with AB Roulett Konsult & Spelautomater in 1968.


==Products==
In 1972, the company changed its name to Cherryföretagen AB incorporating the well-known cherry symbol. Laws allowing restaurants licensed to serve wine, to also offer slot machines which pay out winnings in ], saw the company take over 55 per cent of the slot machine market.
Betsson AB owns and operates a number of websites via its subsidiaries in Malta.<ref name="2015-report" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Om Betsson|url=http://betssonab.com/sv/Om-Betsson/|publisher=Betsson AB|accessdate=6 April 2016|language=Swedish}}</ref>


==Business acquisitions==
In 1978, the Swedish parliament banned slot machines which essentially wiped out the company’s core business before an extensive reorganisation was carried out and by 1984, the Cherry group of companies acquired several Swedish gaming companies, financing the move with a new share issue.
In 2011 the company acquired all of the shares in the Betsafe Group for SEK 292 M. The aim of the acquisition was to increase Betsson's market presence and enable continued growth. The acquisition grew Betsson's number of customers to approximately 419,000 — surpassing ] in the number of active players. That same year Betsson signed an agreement with a Chinese state-owned company regarding the development of joint-owned gaming operations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2011|url=http://bet-safer.com/Betsson_AR_2011_Eng_120420.pdf|publisher=Betsson AB|accessdate=5 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Betsson i ledande roll|url=http://www.dn.se/ekonomi/betsson-i-ledande-roll/|publisher=]|accessdate=5 August 2014|language=Swedish}}</ref>

This provided the base to extend business into Eastern Europe where in 1992 political developments resulted in big losses for the companies which in turn led to the reduction of services and the concentration of gaming operations in Sweden and on ships in Scandinavia.

By 1993, the companies were turning a profit once again and in 1998, Cherry acquired a 35 per cent share in Net Entertainment AB, a company founded by Pontus Lindwall. A year later, Cherry acquires First Casino and begins operating on board ships in the Mediterranean while excess liquidity was invested into the internet.

In 2003, Cherry buys into British sports betting company, Betsson.com and by 2004, Net Entertainment makes significant progress and revenues within the online operation increasing by 100 per cent. Net Entertainment acquires an operating licence in Malta and experienced strong growth leading up to revenue of 1 Billion SEK (€107.7 million) in 2008.

Betsson launches sports book gaming for mobile phones and wins the Most Responsible Gaming Operator award at the EGR awards.

In 2011, saw the launch of a joint venture in China while Betsson acquired its fast-growing competitor and a year later further expansion saw the acquisition of another competitor, Nordic Gaming Group leading to the Online Sportsbook Operator of the Year award by the International Gaming Awards.

Further acquisitions saw the company added to the NASDAQ OMX Large Cap list following the market value of the company’s shares being greater than €2 billion.

In 2015, the company made one of its largest acquisitions to date, the Georgia based,

By the end of the third quarter in 2015, Betsson had more than 8.8 million registered customers.

In March, 2016, CEO of Betsson Group Ulrik Bentgsson also becomes President of Group. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://about.betsson.com/en/company-history/|title=Company History|last=|first=|date=2016|website=|publisher=|access-date=2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://about.betsson.com/iga-award/|title=Betsson Wins Online Sportsbook Operator of the Year|last=|first=|date=2012|website=Betsson|publisher=|access-date=2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.betssonab.com/en/About-Betsson/Business-management-/|title=Business Management|last=|first=|date=2016|website=Betsson|publisher=|access-date=2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasdaqomxnordic.com/shares/microsite?Instrument=SSE5121|title=NASDAQ Nordics Listing Highlights 2015|last=|first=|date=2015|website=nasdaqomxnordic|publisher=|access-date=2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamingintelligence.com/manda/32667-betsson-enters-georgia-with-85m-europe-bet-acquisition|title=Betsson enters Georgia with $85m Europe-Bet acquisition|last=|first=|date=2015|website=Gamingintelligence|publisher=|access-date=2016}}</ref>


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 15:22, 20 April 2016

Betsson AB (publ)
Trade nameNasdaq StockholmBetsson B
Company typePublicly traded (Aktiebolag)
IndustryOnline gambling
(Holding company)
FoundedSweden (December 3, 1963 (1963-12-03))
FounderBill Lindwall and Rolf Lundström
HeadquartersStockholm, Sweden
Brandsbetsson.com
betsafe.com
casinoeuro.com
nordicbet.com
krooncasino.com
and more
RevenueEuro 402.3 M SEK 3,722 M (2015)
Operating incomeEuro 95.8 M SEK 886.4 M (2015)
Number of employees1800
SubsidiariesBetsson Malta Ltd
Websitebetssonab.com
Footnotes / references
Annual Report 2015

Betsson AB is a Swedish company that offers a number of online gambling products, such as casino, poker, bingo, sports betting and scratch cards through several wholly owned Malta-based subsidiaries, like BML Group Ltd and Betsson Malta Ltd. Betsson AB is listed on the NASDAQ Stockholm Large Cap List.

Corporate history

Betsson AB can trace its roots back to 1963, and the foundation of AB Restaurang Rouletter by Bill Lindwall and Rolf Lundström, later renamed Cherryföretagen AB (Cherry), which provided slot machines to restaurants in Sweden. Cherry acquired a minority share of Net Entertainment in 1998, which was a company co-founded with Investment AB Kinnevik, tasked with developing online gaming solutions. The rest of the shares in Net Entertainment held by Kinnevik was acquired by Cherry in 2000, making Kinnevik the largest shareholder of Cherry in the process. In 2003, after the return of Pontus Lindwall (son of Bill Lindwall), as the CEO of Cherry, the company buys into Betsson (founded by Henrik Bergquist, Anders Holmgren and Fredrik Sidfalk), which had a gaming licence in England at that time, and later acquires a license in Malta. In 2006, Cherryföretagen changes its name to Betsson and the traditional gaming operation in the business sector of Cherry merges into a new group, Cherryföretagen, which later shortens the name back to Cherry and launches its own online sector based in Malta. Ulrik Bengtsson stepped up as CEO of Betsson in March 2016, and took over after Pontus Lindwall, who has stayed on as chairman of the board.

Products

Betsson AB owns and operates a number of websites via its subsidiaries in Malta.

Business acquisitions

In 2011 the company acquired all of the shares in the Betsafe Group for SEK 292 M. The aim of the acquisition was to increase Betsson's market presence and enable continued growth. The acquisition grew Betsson's number of customers to approximately 419,000 — surpassing Unibet in the number of active players. That same year Betsson signed an agreement with a Chinese state-owned company regarding the development of joint-owned gaming operations.

References

  1. ^ "2015 Annual Report" (PDF). Betsson AB. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  2. "Koncernstruktur - Betsson AB". Solid Info. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  3. "About Us". Betsson. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  4. http://dev.cherry.se/en/cherrys-history/
  5. "BETSSON AB - Grunddata" (in Swedish). Solid Info. Retrieved 5 August 2014. Registrering och aktivering: Bildat 1963-12-02 BV, Namn registrerat 2006-06-13 BV
  6. "History". Betsson. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  7. "Betsson - superaktien som stigit över 11 000 procent" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  8. "Tar hem spelet" (in Swedish). Affärsvärlden. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  9. "Om Betsson" (in Swedish). Betsson AB. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  10. "Annual Report 2011" (PDF). Betsson AB. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  11. "Betsson i ledande roll" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 5 August 2014.

External links

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